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Nelspruit - The Pumas overcame a gallant performance from Namibia’s Welwitschias to triumph 30-10 in their Vodacom Cup North section match at the Nelspruit Rugby Club in Nelspruit on Saturday.
The Pumas led 17-7 at half-time.
The match never reached any great heights as both sides were guilty of numerous handling errors although they were hampered by conditions that saw the first half played in stifling humidity while heavy rain in the second stanza made control of the ball difficult.
In the end the home side ran in five tries to preserve their unbeaten home record this season.
The visitors’ powerful pack of forwards made life difficult for the Pumas in the scrums but the home side nullified that advantage somewhat by dominating the lineouts and the loose exchanges with flank Jaco Bouwer to the fore.
With flyhalf Ricardo Croy pulling the strings in midfield the Pumas dominated the second half to eventually subdue their opponents.
The Pumas were first to trouble the scorers when wing Roelof Steyn burst through three attempted tackles to crash over alongside the posts for a converted try in the 12th minute.
Seven minutes later lock Marius Coetzer found himself on the left wing to round off a backline movement as the home side eased into a 12-0 lead.
Pumas’ fullback Nicky Kritzinger then scored the try of the match as he collected the ball on his own 10-metre line before setting off down the right-hand touchline.
Kritzinger then chased down his own chip ahead to complete a superb solo effort.
Despite being 17 points down the visitors were not prepared to give up and impressive fullback Chrysander Botha finally scored his team’s first points, in the 27th minute, as he dummied his way over from the Pumas’ 22-metre line before converting his own try.
The home side went to the break holding a 10-point lead and they adjusted to the second-half thunderstorm quicker than the Namibian outfit.
Bouwer was on hand to score the bonus point try three minutes into the half thanks to a powerful rolling maul from the home side.
Botha and Pumas’ wing Braam Pretorius then traded penalties before replacement wing Allistair Kettledas put the match beyond the Welwitschias with 14 minutes left in the contest when he slid over in the corner for his sixth Vodacom Cup try of the season.
The visitors’ suffered a further blow when Botha received a knock to his head in trying to prevent Kettledas’ try and had to leave the field on a stretcher.
Scorers
Pumas:
Tries: Roelof Steyn, Marius Coetzer, Nicky Kritzinger, Jaco Bouwer, Allistair Kettledas
Conversion: Braam Pretorius
Penalty: Pretorius
Welwitschias
Try: Chrysander Botha
Conversion: Botha
Penalty: Botha
The Pumas led 17-7 at half-time.
The match never reached any great heights as both sides were guilty of numerous handling errors although they were hampered by conditions that saw the first half played in stifling humidity while heavy rain in the second stanza made control of the ball difficult.
In the end the home side ran in five tries to preserve their unbeaten home record this season.
The visitors’ powerful pack of forwards made life difficult for the Pumas in the scrums but the home side nullified that advantage somewhat by dominating the lineouts and the loose exchanges with flank Jaco Bouwer to the fore.
With flyhalf Ricardo Croy pulling the strings in midfield the Pumas dominated the second half to eventually subdue their opponents.
The Pumas were first to trouble the scorers when wing Roelof Steyn burst through three attempted tackles to crash over alongside the posts for a converted try in the 12th minute.
Seven minutes later lock Marius Coetzer found himself on the left wing to round off a backline movement as the home side eased into a 12-0 lead.
Pumas’ fullback Nicky Kritzinger then scored the try of the match as he collected the ball on his own 10-metre line before setting off down the right-hand touchline.
Kritzinger then chased down his own chip ahead to complete a superb solo effort.
Despite being 17 points down the visitors were not prepared to give up and impressive fullback Chrysander Botha finally scored his team’s first points, in the 27th minute, as he dummied his way over from the Pumas’ 22-metre line before converting his own try.
The home side went to the break holding a 10-point lead and they adjusted to the second-half thunderstorm quicker than the Namibian outfit.
Bouwer was on hand to score the bonus point try three minutes into the half thanks to a powerful rolling maul from the home side.
Botha and Pumas’ wing Braam Pretorius then traded penalties before replacement wing Allistair Kettledas put the match beyond the Welwitschias with 14 minutes left in the contest when he slid over in the corner for his sixth Vodacom Cup try of the season.
The visitors’ suffered a further blow when Botha received a knock to his head in trying to prevent Kettledas’ try and had to leave the field on a stretcher.
Scorers
Pumas:
Tries: Roelof Steyn, Marius Coetzer, Nicky Kritzinger, Jaco Bouwer, Allistair Kettledas
Conversion: Braam Pretorius
Penalty: Pretorius
Welwitschias
Try: Chrysander Botha
Conversion: Botha
Penalty: Botha
